“Keep Your Hands Off My Social Security!”

With the Social Security reform topic heating up in New Hampshire, Senatorial candidates in Alaska are offering their solutions to the problem. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, the incumbent Democrat, and Republican candidate Dan Sullivan had different takes on how they would deal with the oncoming crisis. Begich has already introduced legislation that sought to raise tax revenue for the system by removing a provision that exempts income above $115,000 from Social Security taxes. Sullivan, for his part is looking at both increasing the cutoff age and means testing; “I do think we need to look at raising the age. I do think we also need to look at means testing.”.

After the Alaskan Democratic party ran radio ads attacking his message, Sullivan backtracked a bit, saying;“we’re not going to touch” (benefits for those currently receiving them). He went further, including those who were close to 67,“in that age bracket where they are almost going to get it.”

A spokesman for Begrich painted the Democrat on the same side as the elderly “…more disappointing talking points from Dan Sullivan, who hasn’t put a single proposal on the table to actually strengthen or protect Social Security.”

His statement followed the same lines as the radio ads, which featured an Alaskan senior saying; “Keep your hands off my Social Security…I’ve been working for 40 years, and I feel like I’m entitled to what I’ve paid in. I just don’t want to see my retirement taken away,”

As those of us under the age of 45 start to raise our collective voice about how the system works against us, you can expect to hear many variations of that theme “Keep your hands off my Social Security!”

You know what we need to tell the people who say that? How about “Keep YOUR hands off MY Money!”